Breaking Stereotypes & Creating Opportunity

Thank You from 13 Fires Organizers

We have so many thanks. If we could say our thanks in a non-hierarchical way, we would!

Thank you to Gramma Louise Mae for helping us to begin in a good way, and also for sharing her wisdom in her feedback.

Thank you to all the people who showed up, shared, and listened. Thank you also to those who stepped up as facilitators and note-takers. We need everyone in this fight for a better, more inclusive world. Many people visited Thunderbird House for the first time. Some people had only arrived in Canada one month ago! Others shared that they had “never been to something like this before.” We look forward to seeing you again.

Thank you to Manitoba Moon Voices for your guidance, helping connect us with Gramma Louise Mae and contributing to her honourarium, and bringing people to support the event.

Thank you to Circle of Life Thunderbird House for hosting us in your space, the staff and volunteers who helped with the event, and to all the community members who helped create this community space. If you are unaware, there is a fundraising campaign to repair the roof. If you are able, please consider contributing (https://www.gofundme.com/WpgThunderbird) or volunteering your time (https://www.facebook.com/events/489211347924585/).

Thank you to Quanhai Tonthat and Michael Kannon for being our official event photographers. It is so important to document what we do, and you do so beautifully. Thank you to everyone else who stepped up on their own to record the event. We can’t wait to see it through your eyes. ‪#‎13FiresWpg‬ is our hashtag if you’re sharing through social media. We are on Facebook and Twitter too.

Thank you to Food Not Bombs for preparing our meal. Food is so important to bringing people together, and you are creating peace by using earth’s resources more responsibly and making time for relationships to build. Please consider volunteering with Food Not Bombs as they support community events.

Thank you to the City of Winnipeg’s Citizen Equity Committee for sponsoring the event. We are glad that you share our vision for bringing Winnipeggers together to create a more racially inclusive city, and we appreciate the funding and support that we can then share with the community through venue fees, food purchases, and honouraria.

Thank you to the youth from Spence Neighbourhood Association for assisting in the kitchen and the child minding room. Again, when we run community events, it’s important to be aware of community needs, so programs like the ones SNA offers for youth employment are so great. Please consider supporting SNA through funding or volunteering.

Thank you to all of the organizers — many committed, caring community members who volunteered their time to make this event happen. Many people ask “Who are you?” and our response is always, “Literally, a group of concerned community members.” We look forward to more organizers coming on board to help with individual events, or even with the overall series.

Thank you to everyone for your patience and feedback — we are learning, we want to acknowledge our mistakes, and we expect to grow as we continue organizing these events. You can email us at 13fireswpg@gmail.com or provide anonymous feedback once we send out a survey link.